Is the title to this post completely cliched? I guess for me it just happens to be true. Now that we are a couple days into the new year and I'm attempting to make some major plans for the business, I am thinking about what I accomplished for the business in 2015. To be honest, I don't feel like it was that much. I was transitioning - from a life in Melbourne Australia, to about 5 months of travelling to different special life events of friends and family, and finally to settling into our home in Whistler during mid December. Let me just say, trying to settle into a new life and set up shop is not a good plan 10 days before Christmas. Nothing gets done. Well, a lot of family time and love happens, and that's a top priority to me. But now... time to crack down and get on with it. I feel very ready to have things happen and start working in Canada. I'm actually quite excited about it. So after this post is done, it's time to stop looking back at what happened and move forward and focus on possibilities of what can be. And walk my dog. Always take breaks for dog walks.

Now I'm going to test myself and try and pick my favourite photo from last year. Maybe top 5. Ok let's be realistic, it'll be my favourite 10. In no particular order...

The only touristy photo of me in Melbourne. Taken by my friend Jo Maxwell, while visiting in 2013.

It's official, I no longer live in Australia. Boxes have been packed and shipped, bags have been stuffed and flown, bank accounts have been closed, goodbyes have been said, and a few tears have been shed.

I moved to Melbourne on February 6, 2009. Somehow the year before, I decided I should apply to do a photography degree... on the other side of the world from my home. The whole application and acceptance process to get into university only took about a month and a half. I shocked a lot of friends and family when I told them I was moving to Australia in order to study photography. I had never even been to Australia before! I had a lot of Aussie friends after living in Whistler, and when I was in high school I thought it would be cool to do an exchange to Aus. The whole thing made sense in my head.

I was extremely fortunate when I arrived that I had a friend that picked me up (with an Aussie care package - everything consumed minus the Vegemite), helped me open my bank account, get a working phone number, and drove me to my new apartment. The housemates I had found online were better than I could have ever asked for. By chance, I found a couple to live with - one of them had just graduated from the photography program I was beginning, and the other was a year ahead of me in it. These two were my family and incredibly helpful and supportive.

Fast forward 3 years... photography degree complete and finished with a high distinction. Migration agents are telling me that I'll have to leave the country because my new career is not in need in Australia. I'm stubborn so I found a visa I could stay on. That gave me almost another 2.5 years in Melbourne. During that time, I assisted various photographers and learned valuable skills to bring to my own practice. I slowly built up my own client list and got to the point where I could work as a photographer instead of as an assistant.

After 2 separate trips home in 2013, I decided I would move home and set up shop in Vancouver the following year. Famous last words. A month after I made this decision, I met the guy that captured my heart. He is a Kiwi boy (New Zealander for those that don't know) that has built his career in the Melbourne coffee scene. I swapped onto a working holiday visa so I could stay in Melbourne and live with him.

At the start of 2015, Calum (the previously mentioned captor of my heart) suggested we move to Canada at the end of the year. Well... it's the end of 2015. We're moving to Canada. Technically, I've already moved back to Canada, but I had to head back to Melbourne to wrap up the last of life there. That's what I did over the past 2 weeks, and now I'm with Calum's family in Auckland until December.

I know there are things that I'll miss about Melbourne, but I'm actually quite happy to leave and have new experiences. I'll miss my favourite food and coffee spots; I'll miss my friends; I'll miss the CHEAP flight deals offered in Australia; I'll miss the surf trips down the coast; and I'll miss my creative team/partners in crime. I appreciate all the opportunities I had while living in Australia. I'm a traveller at heart - I know I'll see my friends again, but I'm a small town girl that misses the mountains, forests, ocean, and lifestyle of west coast Canada, so I'm headed back to where my heart is happy. Peace out Australia, I'm not sure when I'll see you again, but I'm sure it will be someday.

Well.. I finally moved away from my self-designed website to one where templates help me out. I'm proud that I can do a lot of the back-end parts of my business*, but occasionally there are bits out of my knowledge base.** For example, I don't know how to design a mobile-friendly website without help. But this one is! It adjusts to whatever device you're viewing on and optimises it for your viewing pleasure! Anyway, you probably don't care about reading that..***

Welcome to my site, thanks for visiting, and I hope you come back often! There will be a few more changes happening very soon. For example, by mid-October, my online print store will go live! I'll be sure to keep my followers updated when it goes live. So, if you don't follow me already to get updates, you'll find social media links in the top right-hand corner of the page. Plus I just made a newsletter, so you can sign up for that too! You'll find the sign up on the "contact" page.

Now go and enjoy your day and I'll see you in this cyber world again soon!

Random fact footnotes:

* did you know I designed my logo all by myself? It only took 3 days looking at pixels at 200%....

** I even know code. It was my favourite part of my computer science class. But 1 semester of computer science in 2004 does not make good websites in 2015.

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Location scouting in my new neighbourhood and discovering the little things 🌊
@miss_vsss

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In a place that is rapidly becoming a special place to me #futureweddinglocation

So about this location 😍

How amazing are places like this? This was my lunch break spot as I learn to farm (@amylearnstofarm if you wanted to follow along). All of us packed up our lunches and headed down for a quick dip followed by lunch on the rocks. It's nice sharing these moments with beautiful people 💗

Hanging in Whistler for the weekend, ready to cheer on my cousin @daniolafs as she competes in the Whistler half Ironman tomorrow.